Each month, World Trade Center San Diego delivers the latest global news and updates straight to your inbox. ➝ Get WTCSD’s Global Brief each quarter.
In Q1 2022, here’s what you need to know about San Diego’s global trade, investment, and engagement:
WTCSD’s MetroConnect to help 15 new SMEs go global
WTCSD welcomed the sixth cohort of companies named to its MetroConnect export accelerator, made possible by JPMorgan Chase & Co., Procopio, and more than a dozen additional sponsors. These 15 small and mid-sized companies represent a diverse cross-section of San Diego’s economy, from a Bay Area tech transplant to a hard kombucha brewer to an environmental science firm and many more. In its first five years, MetroConnect has helped San Diego firms grow exports by an average 63 percent.
Blue Sky Network turns $5K grant into 36% export increase
Satellite-based communications and fleet management company Blue Sky Network encountered COVID-19-related supply chain issues and a substantial drop in revenue from aviation and oil and gas customers. Upon joining MetroConnect, it leveraged the program’s $5,000 grant, translation software, and market intelligence resources to generate a 36 percent increase in exports. Plus, as a top performing company, Blue Sky Network pitched—and won—MetroConnect’s Grand Prize Pitchfest, netting an additional $25,000 grant to support continued expansion into Brazil and other key markets.
White Labs reduces Australian customs holds by 84% with MetroConnect
A yeast and fermentation innovator, San Diego-based White Labs needed support navigating customs and logistics regulations for exporting live cultures to target countries such as Australia, where it continued to encounter product returns. Equipped with expert knowledge from MetroConnect workshops, new partners, and access to critical tools, White Labs tackled its biggest logistics challenge—decreasing its annual customs holds in Australia by 84 percent since the start of the program.
San Diego News
- SAN, Lufthansa to offer new non-stop service to Munich
- Qualcomm ‘Snapdragon Cockpit’ chips to power Volvo, Honda, Renault electric vehicles
- Sempra completes wind farm expansion in Baja California
- General Atomics wins $31.7M contract on behalf of Belgian government
- San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance helps re-introduce black rhino in Kenya
- San Diego’s Biosero acquired by Sweden’s BICO Group AB for $165M
- BlueNalu partners with Japan’s largest sushi operator to supply cultured tuna
Events
- February 25 – Institute of the Americas – “The Revenge of Power” by Dr. Moisés Naím
- February 25 – UC San Diego – CCD Global Leaders Forum: Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
- March 2 – SBA – Coffee with the Embassy of Colombia and SBA: Trade Opportunities Between the U.S. & Colombia
- March 11 – Go-Biz, USCS – China Virtual Trade Mission
- March 16-18 – Expo Agro ’22 Sinaloa
Grow your company in san diego↓
World Trade Center San Diego works directly with companies—free of charge—to help them expand internationally and grow in San Diego.
- Export Specialty Center: For small companies interested in learning about exporting and international growth.
- MetroConnect: For small and medium-sized companies ready to export and grow internationally.
Plus: Get WTCSD’s Global Brief, monthly global news and updates delivered straight to your inbox.
You might also like:
- WTC San Diego’s Global Brief: December 2021
- Blue Sky Network wins $25K MetroConnect V export grand prize
- Meet the MetroConnect VI companies!
For COVID-19 recovery resources and information: Visit this page, or see how we can help your company free of charge.